Greetings!
First and foremost as a young woman of 19 I fully understand the detrimental effects of spoon-feeding. Not because I have been spoon-fed, but for the mere fact that nearly everyone I know has. I see it in class, at my sterotypical grocery store job, and just damn near everywhere. Those of my generation are so quick to complain about their (what most would see as a blessed) situation, and yet so slow to take the initiative to make it better. How did we get this way one might ask? Agreeing with your article... it's our parents. They never required much of us, so we never thought of going above and beyond (or even above for that matter). Could it be because the parents don't care? Or because they are too busy trying to be our friends? We may never know.

False rewards to encourage self-esteem, setting up "competitions" so "no child is left behind" and other forms of supposedly protecting children and young adults can further attitudes that undermine achievement and personal growth. Kenneth W. Christian, PhD (author of Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit
of Adult Underachievement) notes that "Self Limiting High Potential Persons etch enduring pathways over time by repeating their characteristic self-defeating methods. This tendency can evolve into a general self-limiting style." Some of these styles and patterns detailed in his book are listed on the Self-limiting page on my site: http://talentdevelop.com/self-limit.html
and in my interview with Dr. Christian: http://talentdevelop.com/interviews/KChristian.html

This is why UCLA's Coach Wooden's definition of success should be the ideal.
Competition gives you the opportunity to test your best against anothers best.The motivation is to win but one should be taught to be completely satisfied in giving ones best effort.For if you have given you best effort in preparation and performance and the outcome has still not gone your way you are not a loser.Afterall the result may not go your way if after having made your best effort the referee makes a mistake which gives your opponent a victory.
The process of preparing and testing yourself against strong opposition should be enjoyable to you.Therein lies the true victory.
The media and society's preoccupation with just winning and losing leads to a perspective that will inhibit great attempts and induce quitting.